Recalling My First Love
by Ayami Aras
Summary: No one ever forgets their first love. Feliciano and Ludwig recall theirs. It wasn't an easy first love and lots of things made it difficult: living in an orphanage, a strict caretaker, a jealous older brother, gender confusion, and potential parents who would separate them forever! Did their love survive such trials or did it become nothing more than a memory?


_I hate thinking back to the very beginning. There are so many other moments that were so much happier. Just thinking about my first day makes me cry. I hated it so much and wished so hard to be able to go home, but I guess now I'm happy that my wish wasn't granted._

A homey little building with a large fenced in yard was nestled snugly between an office building and a chiropractor's office. The large backyard was grassy with a plastic play house and jungle gym in the middle. Children of all ages ran and played everywhere, shouting and laughing to each other. Tricycles and scooters were fought over while balls and other toys were tossed about with glee. A swing set creaked as children swung back and forth. Sunlight was shining brightly and warmly on the yard. Over all it was a very pleasant day, too pleasant for the tears that were being spilled inside the orphanage.

A pair of young children was sniffling as they stood in the caretaker's office for the first time. They were obviously siblings, and not just because they both wore matching snowy white robes with matching hats. They both had brown hair that curled slightly and the same round faces. The older one had hazel eyes and was doing his best not to cry with a scowl plastered on his face. As the older brother, he did his best to comfort his younger sibling and not show any signs of weakness although it was obvious how scared and upset he was. The younger one had brown eyes which were currently red and puffy from crying and he preferred to keep them shut either from fear or crying. He clung to his brother's shirt and kept rubbing his face against the soft white fabric to dry his tears and runny nose.

The caretaker of the orphanage, a middle aged man dressed in expensive looking clothes, with dark brown hair, violet eyes framed by glasses, and a distinguishing mole on his jaw, was flipping through some papers on his desk, trying to get things squared away while a woman tried to cheer the children up by smiling and speaking softly to them. "Don't cry. Everything is okay. You don't have to be afraid. Come now, you can trust me," she cooed softly. She had long soft brown hair held back with a creamed colored bandana and decorated with a pink flower. Her green eyes were soft with a hint of sorrow for these poor children. She was crouched down to their level, careful of the skirt to her light green dress. "Can you tell me your names?" She asked, looking from one to the other.

The elder of the two lifted his chin defiantly and demanded, "Where's Grandpa?"

The woman frowned and glanced back at the man behind the desk. He lifted his eyes from the papers in his hands and he nodded once. On the papers he held was the information for the children. They had been brought in that morning by a neighbor who explained that their parents were both long dead—a car crash—and that the boys' grandfather had been taking care of them since (their grandmother also having been deceased). Earlier that morning the children had run to the neighbor's house, claiming that something was wrong with their grandfather, that he was sick, and wouldn't wake up. He had passed in his sleep and was pronounced dead on arrival after the medics the neighbor called for arrived. Unaware of any other relatives of the already small and broken family, the neighbor had brought the boys to the orphanage and called the state to take care of the body since there was no one else willing or capable to organize a funeral.

"Where. Is. Grandpa?" The boy asked again, clenching his teeth while tears threatened to spill out of his large, angry eyes.

"I'm so sorry," the woman said softly. "Your Grandpa can't take care of you anymore." She reached out to place a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, but he quickly jerked away from the touch.

"No!" He shouted. "Where is Grandpa?! He has to take care of us! He _has to!_ Why isn't he here?!" His tears finally spilled from his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He balled his hands into small fists and his whole body started to tremble.

The younger brother flinched at the shouting and seeing his brother cry only caused him to start crying harder and he trembled with his brother, holding on tightly to him as if someone would take his brother away from him like they had taken his grandpa away.

The woman frowned. This was never easy, especially with the younger children who just weren't old enough to really understand death.

"Why won't Grandpa take care of us anymore?" The littler one asked softly. "Doesn't he love us anymore?"

"Your Grandpa loves you very much and he will always love you. Don't ever forget that. He loves you and I'm sure he didn't want to leave you." Having spotted small golden crosses on chains around the boys' necks, the woman decided to say, "God was calling for him and he couldn't say no to God."

"Why not?" The older brother demanded, "Why couldn't he say no to God? Why did God take our grandpa away from us?"

"Have we done something wrong? Are we being punished?" The younger one ventured to ask innocently, his eyes shining with tears.

"No, no. You haven't done anything wrong. You are both very good children and God didn't mean to hurt you, but it was time for your grandpa to go. Do you understand? He had to."

"No!" The older brother shouted and took a step forward toward the woman, swinging his arms through the air to hit the bringer of bad news. He hit her twice.

Suddenly the man behind the desk stood up quickly, his chair scraping across the floor loudly and he shouted sternly, "Enough!" Striding across the room with his head held high and an air of authority surrounding him, he grabbed onto the boy's wrists with a tight grasp and stopped him. The boy protested loudly and struggled against the iron grip of the adult until he realized it was futile. Then he let his body go limp and he would have fallen face first on the floor if the man hadn't been holding his wrists. The boy's brother was frightened and had scrambled back a few paces and a fresh wave of tears were flowing from his chocolate colored eyes.

"Roderick," the woman said softly, not wanting to raise her voice and further frighten the already scared children. The man's violet eyes flashed to her green ones and the woman reassured him, "I'm fine. Now please…"

"I don't care what they're going through. That's no excuse for violence and I won't allow for it." Roderick said, his voice still stern. Turning his words towards the boy he was holding, he explained in the voice of an adult not to be disobeyed, "You will stop this right now. Understood? Understood? Say 'yes Sir.'"

"Yes Sir." The boy murmured angrily.

"Good," the caretaker released the boy and let him lie on the floor before standing up straight and returning to his desk. "They have been assigned to room four. Would you take them there, Ms. Héderváry?"

The woman nodded and moved to gently encourage the older boy to his feet and reached out her hand to take a hold of the younger boy. Suddenly the young boy asked loudly, "Um! Excuse me…Sir? Umm, I'm hungry. Can we have some pasta?"

Roderick raised his eyebrow at the request and said simply, "Lunch is in an hour. You will eat what we give you." Then he dropped his head again to scribble some notes on the papers on his desk.

The woman lifted the older boy up onto his feet and took his hand, then she took the younger boy's hand and, half crouched over, she walked with them out of the room and down a long hallway filled with framed pictures of dozens of children. Stopping in front of a wooden door marked with a number 4, she released the hand of the older boy and opened the door before ushering the children inside.

The room was very small and scarcely decorated with two beds (bunked), a small dresser, and a window with plane blinds that blocked the sun. Walking across the room in a few short strides, the woman pulled the string on the blinds and filled the room with light. Turning around she looked at the boys who were clinging to one another again and looking around the room with nervous and sorrowful eyes. Crouching down again, the woman smiled softly. "Don't worry about Mr. Edelstein. He's really a sweet man." The boys gave no response. "I am Elizaveta. You never told me your names."

The older boy glared at her, but the younger boy softly spoke up, "I'm Feliciano."

His brother jerked his glare to his brother and then pouted. "I'm Lovino," he grumbled reluctantly.

Elizaveta, feeling like they were making progress, smiled and stood up again. "This will be your room. We'll try to get some of your clothes from home," she opened a drawer in the dresser and found that there were a few clothes left behind by the last occupant of the room. Unfortunately the last occupant had been a girl. Elizaveta shut the drawer and then reached on the top bunk and pulled down a pair of clean sheets, blankets, and pillows and began to dress the beds. "Lunch will be shortly. We'll ring a bell and then you can come and join everyone in the dining room. The bathroom is at the end of the hall if you need it, but be sure to clean up after yourself. If there's anything you need just ask and we'll do our best to help." She smiled softly and then crouched in front of the boys again resisting the urge to pull them both into a tight hug. Finally, she had to leave the boys alone to attend to her other duties. Patting them both on the head, she left the room and softly closed the door behind her.

The two brothers continued to just stand in their new room, motionless and silent for a few long minutes. Finally, Lovino walked calmly over to the bottom bunk and climbed onto it. He pulled the pillow to his face and then screamed into it. He kicked his feet and squeezed the fluffy pillow as tightly as he could. Lovino's brother watched him with a frown and then he also crawled onto the bottom bed and hugged his brother from behind. Too tired to deal with trying to comfort his baby brother, Lovino shrugged the boy off and scooted to the other end of the bed. "Leave me alone," he muttered through the pillow.

"Lovino," Feliciano said softly, worried about his brother.

"I said leave me alone!" He shouted angrily, tearing his face from the pillow. His cheeks were tear-stained and his eyes were red and puffy. A bit of snot was hanging from a nostril and overall, Lovino's face looked like it was about to fall apart.

Frowning, Feliciano climbed the ladder to the top bunk and found a pillow for himself to hug to his chest and cry softly into.

The two stayed like that for at least half an hour before Lovino climbed up to join his brother on the top bunk. Unable to stand being alone anymore, he crawled over to his baby brother and hugged him tightly. Their mom and dad were gone and now their grandfather was gone too. All they had was each other and Lovino swore that he would never lose his brother too. He would never let anyone take Feliciano away from him!

Feliciano squirmed in his brother's tight hug until he was able to maneuver himself so he was able to hug his brother back. Slowly their eyes started to dry and a calm sorrow settled upon the two boys. "Grandpa's really gone, isn't he?" Feliciano asked quietly. Lovino just nodded his head. "And we can't go home anymore can we?" Another nod. "Will you never leave me, Lovi? I…I don't want to be alone. I'm scared." Not trusting his voice enough to speak, Lovino tightened his hug which was enough of an answer for them both.

When a loud harsh ringing noise filled the air, the boys both jumped. It was similar to a school bell and was the signal for lunch. The brothers looked at each other, silently asking the other if they should go. Finally Feliciano said, "I'm hungry." And it was enough motivation for them both to climb down from the top bunk bed and venture shyly out of their room to find the dining room.

Meanwhile, the rest of the children from the orphanage were streaming in from outside. Lovino and Feliciano followed the others to the dining room and held their breath as they picked two chairs next to each other to sit in. They were in a new place, surrounded by new faces, and both were rather nervous and shy. An older girl, probably around 12 years old sat next to Lovino. She had short blond hair with a bright red ribbon in it. She looked down at Lovino with sparkling green eyes and a cat-like grin. "Hi!" She greeted him energetically. "You're new, aren't you? Don't worry. I can show you around if you'd like. My name's Bell. What's yours?" Lovino stared up at her with an intense frown on his face. He didn't know how to deal with someone who seemed so happy when he felt so unhappy. Plus, she was _really_ pretty.

Besides him, Feliciano was also being greeted by someone who picked the chair beside him. It was another girl about the same age as Bell with long brown hair with a pair of ribbons holding it in pigtails. She was smiling and asking the other brother's name as well. Feliciano smiled politely and (always having been better with people) answered quietly that his name was Feliciano. "Oh what a cute name!" The girl cooed, loudly. "Can I call you Felici?" She smiled when Feliciano gave his consent.

"This is my brother, Lovino," Feliciano said, smiling at his brother and reaching out to hold his hand.

"Are you shy, Lovi?" Bell asked, shortening his name without asking and smiling even wider than before, trying to be friendly.

"Hi Lovi, I'm Michelle," the brown haired, brown eyed girl greeted him.

Flushing at the unwanted attention, Lovino hunched in on himself and managed to mutter a simple, "Hi."

"Leave him alone, Bell," an older boy said, sitting next to the overly happy girl. He looked tough with spikey hair and a scar on his forehead.

Bell didn't seem to think he was so tough or scary for she huggled him and cooed, "Ah, but Neddy! I'm just being friendly."

"You're being _too_ friendly, Bell." The boy muttered.

It was then that the food came from the kitchen and was passed out among the children. They were each given a scoop of steamed vegetables and a chicken sandwich. To drink they had a choice between milk, juice, or water. Feliciano and Lovino both chose grape juice. When the chicken sandwiches were placed in front of Lovino and Feliciano, they both stared at them and poked them, examining the bread and the breaded chicken underneath. They weren't used to this kind of food and despite their rumbling stomachs, neither were eager to eat it. Feliciano was the first to pick up a steamed baby carrot and nibble on it. At least the vegetables were cooked the same although he wished there were baby tomatoes too, as did his brother.

"Not quite what you're used to?" Michelle asked sympathetically.

"Give it a try," Bell said after a large bite. "It's not too bad. Besides, it's gotta be better than starving right?"

Another rumble of their stomachs prompted the siblings to try the chicken sandwich. It was bland and was lacking so much, but it was food. Neither had eaten that morning (understandable considering the circumstances) and once they started eating, they weren't going to stop just because they were used to more spices and thick sauces.

Half way through the meal, Bell laughed and leaned over to the boys, "You guys are going to make friends fast. Look, Felici already has a secret admirer!" She giggled and pointed across the table at a boy about Feliciano's age with blond hair whose bright blue eyes were fixed on the younger of the new kids.

"Aww, young love. How cute," Michelle teased.

Feliciano blinked as he looked across the table at the boy and lifted a hand to wave. Realizing that he had been caught staring, the boy blushed and quickly dropped his head to focus on his plate. This caused the two older girls to laugh. Lovino, however, wasn't as pleased with the situation. He didn't want to make friends, he didn't even want to be here, but most of all he didn't want anyone to take away Feliciano from him, even for a second.

When lunch was finished, the children all had chores of some kind to do. Some of the children helped with the dishes, some washed the table, others swept the floor, but everyone had something to do. Unsure of what they were supposed to do, Lovino and Feliciano lingered, looking around at everyone else until finally they were approached by Elizaveta holding a push broom and a duster. "Here," she held out the cleaning instruments to the two of them. "Could you sweep and dust the front hall, please?" She smiled at the boys as they took the broom and duster from her hands. Then she walked away to instruct some other children on what to do.

Lovino and Feliciano walked slowly into the front room and found that they were the only ones who were supposed to be cleaning the area. Grumpy, Lovino threw the duster onto the ground and crossed his arms. Feliciano looked at his brother and frowned. After it was clear that Lovino had no intention of cleaning, his brother said softly, "Lovino, we have to clean."

"No we don't," Lovino responded quickly. "Grandpa never made us do stupid stuff like this. I don't want to."

"But…" Feliciano protested, but Lovino wouldn't listen. He just stood there with his arms crossed. Finally, Feliciano started pushing the broom across the floor. He didn't want to not do as he was told, nor did he want to just stand around and look angry like his brother was doing, so cleaning seemed like the best choice. Lovino scowled at him and then marched off, leaving the duster on the ground. Pausing in his work, Feliciano watched his brother leave, probably going back to their shared room. Glancing at the duster on the floor and then around the small front room, Feliciano realized that Lovino would get in trouble if this room was still dusty. Not wanting his brother to get in trouble, Feliciano leaned his broom against a wall and picked up the duster and did his best to dust the room. After a few minutes of hard work, the room was finally as dust free as he could get it (he couldn't reach the high picture frames, top of the coat rack, and other such places). Once that job was completed, Feliciano traded the duster for the broom and started sweeping again.

Not too long after, Mr. Edelstein walked through the front hall to get to the door that led to his office and as he passed through, he stepped in a pile of dust of dirt Feliciano had swept, scattering it. Stopping, he frowned down at the mess and then looked at Feliciano. "You're not done yet?" Mr. Edelstein knew that the boy was new and going through a tough time, but every child had chores to do and he couldn't show favoritism to or be lenient with any of them. "Stop dawdling and hurry up and get this place swept."

"Y-yes, Sir." Feliciano stuttered, ashamed at being scolded. He hung his head, upset, but quickly got back to work sweeping. Mr. Edelstein nodded his head once, hoping this new boy wouldn't give him too much trouble, and then disappeared behind his office door. It took just a few minutes longer before the young boy finally finished his and his brother's chores. Picking up both the broom and the duster, he dragged them around, searching for Ms. Elizaveta to give them back. After finding her, she kindly showed him where they were kept so that he could pick them up and put them back without waiting for her to get them for him.

Finally, Feliciano tiredly dragged his feet as he walked back to his room. He found Lovino lying on his side on the bottom bunk on top of his covers. "You're so stupid, Feliciano," he murmured, not bothering to look at his brother. "Why'd you do all that? You didn't have to."

Feliciano frowned, but ended up sitting next to his brother on the bed. He hung his head and looked at his hands in his lap. "What else was I supposed to do? I don't want anyone to be mad at me." He paused and then glanced at his brother's back, "Are you mad at me?"

There was a short silence before Lovino finally sighed and sat up, looking at his brother. "No. I'm not mad at you. I'm just mad at everyone else. I'm mad at Grandpa for leaving us and not coming back to get us." He hugged his knees and scowled, cursing the world.

The two fell into silence after that. Several minutes passed before a knock on their door interrupted the quiet. Feliciano started at the sudden sound and Lovino shot the door a dirty look before turning his back to it. A female voice from beyond the wooden door called out, "Felici? Lovi? Are you in there? Would you like to come out and play?" It was one of the girls from lunch.

Feliciano looked to his brother whose scowl only continued to increase. He crossed his arms and spat, "If you want to play then go play."

"Will you come with me?" Feliciano asked, not wanting to be too far away from the only person he really knew here.

Lovino groaned, but sat up and slid off the bed anyway. He felt the same as his brother, but of course he wasn't going to voice it aloud. Together the two boys opened their door to see the blond girl with the cat-like grin which only grew as she saw them. Bell eagerly took both of their hands and dragged them to a large play room where several other children were playing games. There was a modest television set with an outdated video game system hooked up to it. There was also a table set up along the far wall where kids could draw or play games or something. In one corner was a small pile of stuffed animals and dolls and not too far from that was a chest full of a random assortment of toys. Normally all these areas would have children playing in them, but at the moment all of the kids were gathered in the center of the room, waiting.

Bell dragged the boys towards the other children and called out, "Okay we can start the game now!"

The children all looked at Bell, and subsequently Lovi and Felici. "Alright! Awesome! Let's start then. The name of the game is the Moo Game. We're all going to moo three times. Then you guys can be the judges. You have to pick who moos the loudest. K?" The self-proclaimed leader was a young boy with blond hair, blue eyes, and glasses. He was very loud and demanded attention. "Then whoever you pick gets to be the judge. Got it?"

"This is a stupid game," Lovino complained, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Come on, it'll be fun! I promise!" Bell said, smiling and lacing her fingers behind her back. Several other children eagerly agreed with Bell's statement.

Lovino glanced at his brother and knew that his silly little brother would probably want to play a silly game. He sighed, "Fine." He agreed only on account of his brother.

A few children cheered and then the leader of the group grinned and said, "Alright then. You ready? Okay everybody. One. Two. Three!" Then all the children except for Lovi, Felici, and Bell shouted, "MOO! MOO! MOO!" Bell giggled and smiled at the new kids and was pleased to see at least one of them smiling at the game. Once the group had mooed three times as loud as they could the leader asked, "Okay. Who mooed the loudest?"

Bell turned to her fellow judges and conferred, "Who do you think was the loudest?"

Lovino grumbled and huffed, which left Feliciano to scan the group. Everyone was watching him, waiting for his verdict. He felt a little nervous, but he was very happy to be accepted into the group and given such an important role in the game. He spotted the boy from lunch and found that he was staring again. Then, once again, once the boy realized he had been caught, he looked away. Feliciano frowned, unsure of what to think of the mystery boy who kept staring at him. Finally Feliciano made a decision and pointed at the boy who was the leader and said, "I think you were the loudest."

"That's Alfred!" Bell said, nodding her head, "Yes. Al was definitely the loudest. Do you agree, Lovi?"

Lovino rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, sure." Just to get the game over with. He still didn't understand when it would start getting fun.

Having picked a winner, Alfred stepped forward and faced the group while Bell led Lovi and Felici to take their own place as a part of the group. "Now it's our turn to moo. And you've gotta moo as loud as you can. Got it?"

Lovino was still frowning, but Feliciano was smiling both happily and determinedly. "As loud as we can. Okay!" e He grabbed onto his brother's hand and squeezed it for support and Lovino's scowl melted a little bit. Okay okay, he'd moo…just a little. Alfred once again counted to three and then the group started mooing. Feliciano shouted as loud as he could with the group, "MOO!" Lovino also shouted with the group, not at the top of his lungs, but he still shouted, "MOO!" Then on the third moo only Feliciano and Lovino shouted, "MOO!" The rest of the children were dead silent and every set of eyes was on the two fools who had just shouted 'Moo' at the top of their voices. Then laughter erupted as the children enjoyed their joke.

Lovino's face quickly turned several shades of red and a deep and angry frown spread across his features. Feliciano's face was confused at first and then as he started to realize that he was being teased, his face quickly turned sorrowful and he looked like he was about to cry. Angry, Lovino grabbed onto his brother's sleeve and pulled him out of the group of children and stormed back out of the big playroom, ignoring the calls to wait or to come back. He continued down the hall, and back into their new bedroom where he slammed the door as hard as he could. "I hate it! I hate it here! I hate everyone! All of these…these…fucking assholes!"

Feliciano's eyes widened at his brother's anger, "Lovino. Grandpa doesn't like you using those words!"

"Fuck Grandpa!" Lovino snapped at his brother. Tears were streaming down his face for what felt like the hundredth time today and he paced the room restlessly. "He's not here, Feliciano! And he never will be here! We'll never see him again! He fucking left us, just like Mom and Dad, and now we have to live with these bastards. I wish they'd all die and go to hell! I hate them! I hate Grandpa for leaving us! I hate that fucking old lady who brought us here and the stupid people making us do chores and the shitty food! I hate the beds that are too hard and the smell and…and…I just hate everything! I hate it all! Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck! Shit! Damn! Hell! Fuck! Crap! Fuck!" He shouted at the top of his lungs now, still pacing, letting out his angry energy by flailing his arms about as well.

Suddenly the door to their room flung open and they were greeted with an angry caretaker. The man frowned deeply and with only a slightly raised voice scolded, "I will not tolerate that language or your shouting. Now calm down or I'll be forced to put you in time out."

With a defiantly raised chin, Lovino glared at the stupid fancy man with a sour look, opened his mouth and said in a strong and loud voice, "Fuck you, asshole!"

The very next moment, Mr. Edelstein had grabbed Lovino by the ear and was dragging him out of the room and down the hallway. Feliciano shook off his shock and stumbled out after the two, "W-wait! Wait! Please," he cried, running after his brother and the man taking him away. "Don't! Please don't take Lovino away from me! Let him go! Please! Sir! Please!" He cried and his pleas became less and less understandable, but no matter what he said, Mr. Edelstein wouldn't listen.

"I'm sorry, but there are rules and if you break them you will be punished. No exception." The caretaker said sternly, not even sparing a look down at either boy.

Meanwhile, Lovino was crying out and complaining too, "Stop it! Fuckass! Let me go! Don't touch me! Damn it! Ow! Ow! Ouch! That hurts! Stop it!"

Then Mr. Edelstein dragged the boy back through the play room. The children there had all easily heard Lovino's shouts and they all watched silently, as the three crossed the room. It felt like a very long walk and feeling all the eyes on him only made Lovino squirm more and shout louder. After they finally crossed the room and entered another hallway, it wasn't long before Mr. Edelstein unlocked a door, opened it, and shoved Lovino in. "Until you can learn to control that mouth of yours you will stay in here. Hopefully, for your sake, you'll learn before dinner." Then the door was shut and locked again.

Lovino shouted from inside furiously and pounded on the door, but Mr. Edelstein simply walked away. Feliciano called after him, but he didn't even hesitate. Then Feliciano fell to his knees in front of the door and called out to his brother inside, "Lovi! Lovino!"

Lovino responded from right behind the door, "Feliciano! Don't you dare leave me!" His voice cracked, with so many emotions: fear, anger, desperation, and overwhelming sadness to name but a few.

Both boys were slumped against their respective sides of the door and both were shaking, and neither moved away. None of the other children dared to venture into the hallway to find Feliciano and they all remained in the playroom, out of sight. Several minutes passed and nothing could be heard from the brothers but soft cries and the occasional call of the other's name just to reassure them they were still there.

Just before dinner time, Mr. Edelstein returned. He frowned at Feliciano who was sitting on the ground in front of the door, having not moved at all. Then he called out to Lovino beyond the door and asked, "Are you ready to come out?"

There was a long pause and Feliciano cried softly to his brother, "Lovino, please."

Then Lovino responded in a quivering voice, "Yes."

"Have you learned your lesson? Will you shout or use that language again?"

"I've learned my lesson. I won't say those words again. I promise. Just let me out!"

And with that, Mr. Edelstein was pleased enough and he unlocked the door and shooed Feliciano away so he could open it. The very second it was open, Lovino and Feliciano fell into each other's arms and held on tightly, determined to never be separated again. Mr. Edelstein frowned. He didn't really enjoy being the bad guy, but the children had to learn that they had to listen to and respect their elders, especially him. "Alright, dinner is just about to be served. Run along to the dining room now."

The two boys remained close and held each other's hands. Feliciano glanced up at the caretaker and then back down at the floor. "I don't want to," he murmured softly. Lovino frowned at his brother, but didn't say anything. He agreed completely. Mr. Edelstein didn't seem to comprehend the child's reasoning and gave him a questioning look. "They don't like us," Feliciano explained in an even softer voice.

Mr. Edelstein frowned but shrugged his shoulders, "If you don't wish to join us for dinner that's fine, but you won't be given anything to eat again until breakfast in the morning." Then the man walked away at a brisk pace leaving the boys behind.

Lovino and Feliciano remained in the hallway in front of the bare room that had been Lovino's prison for the past few hours. By silent agreement, they decided to stay where they were until the bell sounded for dinner and all the other children would be in the dining room. Then they could travel through the play room without having all the eyes on them. Soon enough the bell sounded and the boys waited for a few minutes longer. Then they slowly walked hand in hand through the empty play room and back to their bedroom where they stayed for the rest of the night.

After dinner was over the other children went back to playing, but Lovino and Feliciano still didn't join them. It was just a little after dinner that there was another knock on their door. Neither Feliciano nor Lovino said a word, they just stared quietly at the door. There wasn't any other sound and after a few seconds, Lovino dared to open the door and peek out. If someone had played door-ditch on them he was going to start shouting again, but when he opened the door he was actually pleasantly surprised. There was no one there, but sitting on the floor in front of their door was a small pile of food that someone had swiped from dinner to give to them. There was a banana, a graham cracker in the shape of a bear, and two chicken fingers. Lovino looked down the hall, but didn't see anyone. Too hungry to be suspicious, he grabbed the food and disappeared back into his room. He placed the food on the bed to share with his brother and the two of them thankfully ate their dinner quietly. It seemed like there was at least one person on their side, but after today, they were both a little leery of trusting anyone.

Later a voice called out down the hall, "lights out!" Feliciano and Lovino turned off their light without any fuss and then curled up in the bottom bunk together after a long and stressful day. Their eyelids eagerly shut, tired after so much crying and it wasn't long before they both drifted off into the warm embrace of sleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** In case you couldn't tell, Bell is Belgium, Michelle is Seychelles, Neddy is Netherlands (although I haven't decided if that's going to be his real name or just a nickname Bell gave him), and everyone else has their cannon names. I enjoy adding as many characters as I can to my stories as the side characters so you can look forward to more popping up in later chapters. I'm hoping to add more sadness, but also a bunch of cuteness to balance it all out. I don't have a beta so if you spot any mistakes please point them out so I can fix them. Comments/suggestions/criticism/etc is encouraged so don't be shy! Finally, I'm not a hard core author so I don't have a schedule for this fiction and probably won't be updating it regularly, but I will update it as soon as I can.

I had fun writing and I hope you have fun reading.


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